Books

 by  Scott  Page    

 
1.  Page,  Scott,  Ken  Kollman  and  John  Miller,  eds.  Computational  Models  of  Political  
Economy.  MIT  Press,  2002.    
 
This  book  features  recent  research  on  Computational  Political  Economy,  with  a  focus  
on  theoretical  models.  Each  chapter  is  a  model  involving  agents.  Examples  include  
corporate  decision-­‐making,  voting,  candidate  positioning,  and  more.    
 
http://www.amazon.com/Computational-­‐Political-­‐Economy-­‐Kenneth-­‐
Kollman/dp/B005Q81ZHI/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352343876&sr=1-­‐
1&keywords=scott+page+computational+models+of+political+economy  
 
 

 
2.  Page,  Scott.  The  Difference:  How  the  Power  of  Diversity  Creates  Better  Groups,  
Firms,  Schools,  and  Societies.  Princeton  University  Press,  2007.  
-­‐ Translated  to  Japanese  2008.  
 
The  Difference  is  about  how  people  think  in  groups.  Why  do  groups  of  diverse  
individuals  outperform  brilliant  individuals  working  alone?  Why  is  our  collective  
wisdom  so  much  greater  than  the  sum  of  its  parts?  Page  demonstrates  that  
progress  and  innovation  depend  on  diverse  people  working  together  on  problems.  
 
http://www.amazon.com/Difference-­‐Diversity-­‐Creates-­‐Schools-­‐
Societies/dp/0691138540/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352343778&sr
=1-­‐1&keywords=scott+page  
 
 
 
 
 
3.  Page,  Scott  and  Miller,  John.  Complex  Adaptive  Systems:  An  Introduction  to  
Computational  Models  of  Social  Life.  Princeton  University  Press,  2007.    
-­‐ Translated  to  Chinese  2008.  
 
A  clear  and  accessible  account  of  Complex  Adaptive  Systems,  with  focus  on  theoretical  
and  practical  applications  in  Social  Science.  This  book  provides  introductions  to  
concepts  such  as  emergence,  automata,  networks,  diversity,  and  feedback,  among  
others.    
 
http://www.amazon.com/Complex-­‐Adaptive-­‐Systems-­‐Introduction-­‐
Computational/dp/0691127026/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352343829
&sr=1-­‐3&keywords=scott+page  
4.  Page,  Scott.  Diversity  and  Complexity.  Princeton  University  Press,  2010.  
 
This  book  is  about  the  role  of  diversity  in  Complex  Adaptive  Systems.  This  is  a  slightly  
more  technical  account  of  how  diversity  provides  system  robustness,  responds  to  
external  shocks,  and  even  leads  to  tipping  points.    
 
http://www.amazon.com/Diversity-­‐Complexity-­‐Primers-­‐Complex-­‐
Systems/dp/0691137676/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352343829&sr=1-­‐
2&keywords=scott+page  
 
 
 
The  Short  List:  Ten  Enjoyable,  Accessible  Books  (Not  Much  Math)    
 
 
1.  Bishop,  Bill.  The  Big  Sort:  Why  the  Clustering  of  Like-­‐Minded  America  is  Tearing  Us  
Apart.  New  York:  Houghton  Mifflin,  2008.  
 
This  book  gives  an  account  of  the  “sorting”  model  that  we  contrasted  with  “peer  
effects.”  Bishop  argues  that  Americans  have  been  sorting  themselves  into  politically  
and  ethnically  homogenous  communities,  leading  to  ideological  polarization.    
(Section  2  –  Segregation  and  Peer  Effects)  
 
http://www.amazon.com/Big-­‐Sort-­‐Clustering-­‐Like-­‐Minded-­‐
America/dp/0547237723/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352343560&sr=1-­‐
1&keywords=bill+bishop  

 
 
2.  Christakis,  Nicholas  A.  ,  and  James.  H.  Fowler.  Connected:  The  Surprising  Power  
of  Our  Social  Networks  and  How  They  Shape  Our  Lives.  New  York:  Little,  
Brown  and  Company,  2009.  
 
It’s  all  in  the  title  –  Connected  is  about  social  networks  influencing  our  lives  in  terms  
of  health,  happiness,  wealth,  and  much  more.    It’s  about  how  behavior  spreads,  
emotion  is  contagious,  and  how  the  2-­‐friends  we  covered  in  class  mean  more  to  our  
lives  than  we  might  think.  (Section  2  –  Segregation  and  Peer  Effects)  
 
http://www.amazon.com/Connected-­‐Surprising-­‐Networks-­‐Friends-­‐
Everything/dp/0316036137/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352343498&
sr=1-­‐2&keywords=connected  
 

 
  
3.  Kahneman,  Daniel.  Thinking,  Fast  and  Slow.  New  York:  Farrar,  Straus  and  Giroux,  
2011.    
 
This  book  became  hugely  popular  last  year.  Written  by  Nobel  Prize  winner  Daniel  
Kahneman,  it  gives  us  a  tour  of  the  decision-­‐making  methods  in  the  brain,  contrasting  
to  systems  –  the  fast  (or  behavioral)  system  and  the  slow  (rational)  system.  
 (Section  5  –  Thinking  Electrons)  
 
http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-­‐Fast-­‐Slow-­‐Daniel-­‐
Kahneman/dp/0374275637/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352343599&sr=
1-­‐1&keywords=thinking+fast+and+slow  
 
 

 
4.  Mokyr,  Joel.  Gifts  of  Athena:  Historical  Origins  of  the  Knowledge  Economy.  
Princeton:  Princeton  University  Press,  2002.  
 
This  book  on  knowledge  economy  shows  how  the  growth  explosion  and  expansion  
of  “useful”  knowledge  in  the  modern  West  was  driven  not  just  by  the  rise  of  
technological  developments,  but  also  by  improved  access  to  these  technologies  in  
society.    
(Section  9  –  Diversity  and  Innovation)  
 
http://www.amazon.com/Gifts-­‐Athena-­‐Historical-­‐Origins-­‐
Knowledge/dp/0691120137/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352343627&
sr=1-­‐3&keywords=mokyr  
 
 
 
 
 
 
5.  Schelling,  Thomas  C.  Micromotives  and  Macrobehavior.  New  York:  W.W.  Norton  
and  Co.,  1978.    
 
This  book  was  published  more  than  30  years  ago,  but  its  insights  remain  exciting  
today.  Schelling  demonstrates  how  small,  seemingly  inconsequential  “micro”  actions  
can  lead  to  unintended  results  for  the  group.  
(Section  2  –  Segregation  and  Peer  Effects)  
 
http://www.amazon.com/Micromotives-­‐Macrobehavior-­‐Thomas-­‐C-­‐
Schelling/dp/0393329461/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352343657&sr=1-­‐
2&keywords=schelling  
  

 
 
6.  Surowiecki,  James.  The  Wisdom  of  Crowds.  New  York:  Anchor  Books,  2004.  
 
Large  groups  of  people  are  smarter  than  groups  of  just  a  few,  no  matter  how  much  
knowledge  and  experience  the  latter  group  has.  Surowiecki  delves  into  an  array  of  
fields  to  demonstrate  how  this  deceptively  simple  idea  can  drive  innovation,  
community,  and  success.  
 
http://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-­‐Crowds-­‐James-­‐Surowiecki/dp/0385721706  
 

 
 
 
7.  Tetlock,  Phillip.  Expert  Political  Opinion,  How  Good  is  it?  How  Can  we  Know?  
Princeton:  Princeton  University  Press,  2005.  
 
Tetlock  asks  whether  experts  can  accurately  predict  political  phenomena,  and  
contrasts  various  methods  of  forecasting,  analyzing  which  are  more  or  less  successful.  
Tetlock  argues  that  thinkers  who  draw  from  a  number  of  fields  and  rely  on  an  eclectic  
array  of  methods  will  be  the  better  forecasters.    (Section  1  –  Why  Model?)  
 
http://www.amazon.com/Expert-­‐Political-­‐Judgment-­‐Good-­‐
Know/dp/0691128715/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352343683&sr=1-­‐
1&keywords=tetlock  
 

 
8.  Thaler,  Richard  H.,  and  Cass  R.  Sunstein.  Nudge:  Improving  Decisions  about  
Health,  Wealth,  and  Happiness.  New  York:  Penguin,  2009.  
 
People  often  make  poor  decisions  that  make  them  poorer,  less  healthy,  less  safe,  and  
so  on.  The  authors  explain  that  this  is  because  humans  are  susceptible  to  biases  that  
lead  us  to  make  wrong  decisions  related  to  personal  finance,  education,  family,  and  
even  planet  Earth.  (Section  5  –  Thinking  Electrons)  
 
http://www.amazon.com/Nudge-­‐Improving-­‐Decisions-­‐Health-­‐
Happiness/dp/014311526X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352343710&s
r=1-­‐1&keywords=thaler+sunstein+nudge  
 

 
  
9.  Wolfram,  Stephen.  A  New  Kind  of  Science.  Champaign:  Wolfram  Media,  2002.    
 
This  seminal  book  by  respected  scientist  Stephen  Wolfram  introduces  us  to  a  set  of  
discoveries  that  come  from  computer  experiments,  and  can  be  used  to  address  a  
wide  array  of  problems  in  science,  such  as  the  Second  Law  of  thermodynamics,  
complexity  in  biology,  and  much  more.  Highly  recommended.  General  –  more  
math  than  others.  
 
http://www.amazon.com/New-­‐Kind-­‐Science-­‐Stephen-­‐
Wolfram/dp/1579550088/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352343726&sr
=1-­‐1&keywords=wolfram  
 
   
 
10.  Mauboussin,  Michael.  The  Success  Equation:  Untangling  Skill  and  Luck  in  
Business,  Sports,  and  Investing.  Harvard  Business  Review  Press,  2012.  
 
A  great  new  book  by  Michael  Mauboussin  about  skill  and  luck,  and  how  we  can  
tell  which  is  at  play  in  various  scenarious  involving  business  and  investing.  
(Section  15:  Randomness  and  Random  Walks)  
 
http://www.amazon.com/The-­‐Success-­‐Equation-­‐Untangling-­‐
Investing/dp/1422184234  
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Five  Papers  for  Further  Reading    
 
Section  12  (Coordination  and  Culture):  Bednar’s  Model  
 
Bednar,  Jenna,  Aaron  Bramson,  Andrea  Jones-­‐Rooy  and  Scott  Page.  “Emergent  
cultural  signatures  and  persistent  diversity:  A  model  of  conformity  and  
consistency.”  Rationality  and  Society,  2010  22:  407-­‐444.  2010.  
 
 
 
Section  6  (Categorical  and  Linear  Models):  When  Linear  Models  are  Wrong  
 
Dawes,  Robyn  M.  “The  robust  beauty  of  improper  linear  models  in  decision  making.“  
American  Psychologist,  Vol  34(7),  Jul  1979,  571-­‐582.  
 
 

Section  17  (Prisoners’  Dilemma):  No  Panaceas  

 
Ostrom,  Elinor.  “Going  Beyond  Panaceas.”  Proceedings  of  the  National  Academy  of  
Sciences  of  the  United  States  of  America,  104(39),  pp.15176-­‐15178,  2007.
 
 
 
Section  7  (Tipping  Points):  Tipping  Points  
 
Lamberson,  P.J.,  and  Scott  E.  Page.  “Tipping  Points.”  Quarterly  Journal  of  Political  
Science,  2012,  7:  175–208  
 

Section  9  (Diversity  and  Innovation):  No  Free  Lunch    

 
Wolpert,  D.H.,  Macready,  W.R.  “No  Free  Lunch  Theorems  for  Optimization.”  IEEE  
Transactions  on  Evolutionary  Computation,  67(1),  1997.